Heritage Policy Blog: Social Security Options

The Heritage Policy Blog has an interesting post on Social Security:

The Hill reports that Clinton-era Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin met with House Democrats yesterday to advise them on the Social Security debate.His advice was simple, reports the Hill:

Putting out a Democrat plan on Social Security would be a horrible mistake because right now it’s the president’s principles against our principles, Rubin said, according to a Democratic leadership aide. The aide added that Rubin told his party colleagues that it would be hard to win a battle of specifics.

Telling, isn’t it?And the message that his audience took was a bit strange:

Another leadership aide said, “From a political standpoint, he said, hold firm because you have a difference in principles; their principle is a privatization plan, ours is not to add to the deficit, and there’s not a whole lot of room for compromise.”

Not adding to the deficit is an admirable principle. Carried out fully, it would mean cutting benefits around 2017, when the Social Security trust fund bonds begin to come due. Alternatively, it could mean raising taxes then or slashing other spending…

Read the rest of the Heritage Policy Blog post here.



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